Costco will also take back nearly anything without question. Therefore, we decided we’d just keep buyin’ ‘em, wreckin’ ‘em and tradin’ ‘em in until Costco wises up and changes its return policy. That gently used hand-me-down held up really well under all kinds of conditions. But eventually, the years and the mileage caught up with Ol’ Blue, and she provided her last night of cover to us sometime in the summer of 2014.
For extra protection from the elements, you can buy the Instant Cabin Tent with a rainfly; this bundle is also on major markdown for October Prime Day at 41 percent off. Last year I bought a Coleman 8 Man Instant Tent, since I usually camp alone it looked like a good product. I spent three weeks going up the Arkansas river valley in Colorado coleman instant tent from Salida to Leadville prospecting for gold. The first day I set the tent up the wind blew it over while I was setting it up, 3 “Knuckle” joints broke instantly, they are a part of the tent poles that allow the tent to “pop up”. This was not a strong wind, more like a gust in a breeze and should not have injured the tent at all.
Although it’s less than ideal to add a 20% upcharge to unlock this feature, it’s still much easier on your wallet than the majority of the tents in our review. However, this rainfly really only serves to add extra protection to the roof; it does not extend out far enough to provide sufficient protection for the doors and windows. If you’d prefer to pitch your tent in a matter of seconds rather than minutes, the Coleman Instant Tent 6 has you covered. At only $146.99, it’s one of the cheaper 6-person camping tents on the market, and it delivers a foolproof approach to tent-pitching that can easily be accomplished by one person, perhaps even one-handed. Beyond that, it’s really just a budget tent that’s lacking in bells and whistles, along with less flashy inclusions—such as ventilation, better weatherproofing, and a second door—that would definitely boost its value. For those cloudless summer nights, this could make for an attractive option for families in search of low-cost camping, however there are still several competitive options out there at similar price points.
But if the item has been crammed in there willy-nilly, it’s like trying to untangle a ball of Christmas tree lights. We’ve envied our friends Kim and Kent’s instant setup tent the last couple of times we’ve camped with them. While instant setup feels like cheating, Heather and I have lost so much time to unfolding, threading and securing poles in fading light that we thought it was time we pampered ourselves. If you’re speedy, you can probably have the tent up (sans rain fly) in 45 seconds.
However, this was not a bother to us, as this tent really only needs to be transported from the car to the impact pad, and we’d rather heft a few extra pounds than sacrifice durability. There’s no included footprint with this tent, and we’d recommend purchasing either a 9’x9’ or 10’x10’ footprint, which unfortunately is not offered by Coleman. You can also save quite a bit of money by opting for a tarp instead. These will run you anywhere from $10-20, depending upon your desired level of quality.
Tent body is made of coated polyester brought together with anti-wicking thread, webbing, and zippers.Zipper cuff adds additional weather protection to your front door. They use to be the number one name in outdoor stuff. Bought two air beds, both lost air in a matter of a few hours. When looking for a starter tent, try the Coleman instant tent selection for the greatest ease of assembly.
The peak height is 6’2”, which will allow most hikers to stand up without needing to crouch. In addition, this cabin-style tent has excellent verticality of the walls, so you shouldn’t need to crouch coleman camping chair if you’re anywhere but in the direct center of the tent. This will most certainly be a tight squeeze for six people, but it could more comfortably accommodate two parents and two children.
2) The poles came free of the center “hub” at the top of the tent and had to be forced into place several times. Unfortunately, this tent’s life was also short lived. The front zipper came off track from almost the get go and never did zip up right after repeated attempts to fix it. About halfway through the brief year and a half that we owned it, one of the tent stake rings started to tear loose from the seam, followed by another a few months later. It seems like something else went wrong with it that I can’t remember now. At any rate, we left it behind in a dumpster at Indian Cove Campground in Joshua Tree last year.
Great tent, easy to put up, but the only problem is the plastic joints break and are hard to replace. Not everyone has $500 to spend on a fancy REI tent with a gold leaf rainfly, screens made of spun diamond dust and built-in speakers that hypnotize woodland creatures into singing you softly to sleep at night. Heather and I are blue collar, working-class Coleman people. Heather and I have been camping now just shy of five years, and in that time, we’ve owned four tents.
Because it doesn’t have that dome shape, people can walk around the tent from one end to the other without having to hunch over….very cool! The tent can also be transformed into two rooms with a sheet of nylon that is provided. We were not able to test the “8 Person” claim on this particular trip but you can fit two Queen Airbeds which would allow for 8 tiny people or 5-6 adults.